Sunday 21st February

Woke to sound of bellbirds. Leisurely breakfast on the terrace of Robyn's house – a wrench to leave but finally set off around 11am. Had to be in Canberra between 2-3pm for family bbq.

Stopped to fill up with petrol in Bega and then drove over Brown Mountain, stopping at Piper’s Lookout. First time we have stopped here when the view has been ‘viewable’ – usually raining or misty.

Stopped briefly at Nimmitabel for drink and snack, then non-stop to Monash.

Arrived at 2.35 just before Caz, Stuey and Jasper. Then Murray and Kristie with family arrived, followed by Gary and Julie and Phil and Mel, etc.

Had a wonderful afternoon with everyone – had a swim and excellent barbecue. After all family had left by 7.30 we sat on patio with Barry and Nancy and talked and drank until just after 10.

Monday 22nd

After sitting and chatting through the morning, Anne and Nancy went shopping while Barry went out for his quarterly air force reunion lunch. Les worked on getting the dent out of the rear bumper where someone had nudged us while we were parked (Mollymook motel possibly?). Lots of work lying under the car removing cover panels to allow access to the inside of the bumper. The hairdryer treatment (suggested by Barry’s sons) worked well and Les was able to make the damage much less visible. Barry returned and he polished out the scratches while Les used the touch-up paint from the car’s glovebox (stroke of luck!). Won’t know if we’ve got away with it until we get home to the UK and see if they’ve put the charge on our card.

Natalie and Nicholas were at the house until 5.30 and then Mike arrived. We sat outside chatting and had a barbecue. Mike left around 9.30pm. Hope to see him and Yvonne in Europe this year.

The rest of our time was fairly leisurely. We sat around, swam in the pool and went shopping - just what we needed as Anne hadn't been 100% well since leaving home. We had a meal at Caz & Stuart's on Tuesday evening - unfortunately Anne's camera battery went flat and we hadn't taken the spare.

Caz managed to call in again with Jasper before we left on Thursday. Nancy very tearful at seeing us go - Baz relieved that I'd left the last couple of beers untouched!